April 2015

So at the end of week one, we had seven ewes lambed, fifteen lambs; one single, two triplets and four twins; nine tups and six ewes. Eight are still to lamb, six with twins and two sets of triplets. According to the raddle marks, five are due in week two plus Smudge, who was due in week one but hadn’t obliged.

Monday 2am, Niamh lambed two ewe lambs. The first one had the head back and I had a bit of a panic, because I wasn’t sure I had the right head for the legs. I phoned the vet – I don’t tend to mess around - then had another try and the head slipped into place and the lamb was safely delivered. I had to phone the vet to say all was well. Following the calf abortion that never was, I’ll be starting to get a reputation ☺. The second was presenting normally, so I left her to get on with it while I tailed Trixie and Twinkle’s lambs and dosed the ewes, ready for turnout in the morning. Niamh’s a great mum; this is her fourth lambing. Previously she’s had a single, twins and a single. Her twins from two years ago, Tansy and Treacle, are lambing for the first time this year.

The grass at our rented grazing was ploughed and resown in 2007. The soil hasn’t been tested since then, so I’ve had it done this year. Testing every four years is generally recommended, unless there is a specific problem.

Got the results back on Friday. For some reason, all the paddocks are high in magnesium – this sounds like good news for preventing magnesium deficiency in the livestock, but it also inhibits the uptake of potassium by grass. I have no idea why there’s high Mg but it means that we don’t want to use magnesium lime to correct the pH.

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Who is the Accidental Smallholder?

Hello, I'm Rosemary Champion, aka the Accidental Smallholder. I'm a smallholder in the east of Scotland and started this website to help other people who are interested in smallholding to find their way, and to share my experiences.